That's our Bode, with yet another woodcock (inside the circle) that he pointed yesterday. As my client had already reached his bag limit for the day, we proceeded to take a lot of pictures of that timberdoodle, before finally flushing him and wishing him luck on his journey south this fall.We had our best day in a while yesterday, as we hunted mostly lower elevation cover in Pittsburg, NH again, trying to stay out of the snow that is plaguing the upland higher elevation coverts that we usually hunt.

The snow is great news for the muzzleloader deer hunters that will stream in to northern New Hampshire this weekend, but it is tough on bird dogs and bird hunters alike. We have more weather coming in tonight, and we'll hope for more rain than snow to make things easier next week.

Back to the hunting. Monty had the first turn out of the truck and he led us through the cover all morning. We would encounter eight grouse and eight woodcock behind his excellent nose, with a couple of highlights - first, when Monty pointed a grouse and woodcock in close proximity to each other (no shot for my client), and then near the end of our morning hunt when he pointed a pair of downhill escaping grouse that almost gave Peter enough time to get in position and get a shot off.

We had points on four of the grouse and seven of Monty's eight woodcock, and Peter took two timberdoodles in the morning.

Bode did a great job in the afternoon, thoroughly scouring the cover, and even bringing Peter to comment that Bode's nickname should be "Mr. Clean" for his work in the grouse woods. He certainly gives it his all out there and leaves no brushy spot unturned in his pursuit of birds.

It didn't take too long for Peter to fill his woodcock limit of three over a point from Bode and then we had some more action on grouse. Peter took his first of the day on a fast flushing grouse that came from our left, following Bode's close tracking (maybe a little too close - this one wasn't pointed). Peter's quick reflexes and knowledge of bird dog body language took that grouse, and I'm sure that his experiences hunting quail in southern California and Arizona were a big reason why.

On our long trek back to the truck, Bode established a staunch point on the edge of the cover to our left. When we went in to flush the bird, nothing happened, so Peter stayed on the road and I released Bode from his point. Bode bounded in to some thick spruce further in on the left and a grouse rocketed out of there toward the road. One shot later, Peter had his second grouse of the day, and a few moments afterward Bode pointed his final bird of the day, the woodcock in the picture at right - how much longer will they be here before they're gone for good?Our total for yesterday was twelve grouse and twelve woodcock contacted, which sounds modest but is pretty good for us this year - it's been a strange one!

Things have really taken a turn up here this week in New Hampshire's north country - several days of low to mid 30's with continual snow has sent us from fall grouse hunting conditions to winter grouse hunting conditions in less than a week. By this I mean that most of the grouse and woodcock that remain in the uplands are seeking shelter under heavy evergreen cover where there is snow elsewhere in the cover.

This morning we began in one such cover that has been a good area in the past when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and it seemed as though we might be in luck when we moved a couple of grouse in the first half hour or so. But as we climbed out of the softwood draw of a stream bottom to the upland edge of a logging cut, the 6+" of fresh snow that we trudged through gave us other ideas. The birds simply were not in the uplands where the evergreen cover was not readily present - they were in the lower elevations with plenty of spruce around.

In the afternoon, we took refuge in lower elevations, with little to no snow cover, and this seemed to make the difference. Bode did a great job hunting close and hard, and he pointed quite a few woodcock which my client made good shots on. Peter has never hunted woodcock (there aren't too many timberdoodles in southern California), and he received a good indoctrination in pursuing them.

As usual, it was thick and wet, but Bode provided many opportunities to take birds. He also moved some grouse, and Peter hooked up on one of his shots. All four birds that Peter took were retrieved by Bode - he was really on his game today. We'll try to stay low again tomorrow and see if the woodcock are still around - it might not be too long before they're gone …

Recommended Reading:"The Complete Book of
Woodcock Hunting"
by Frank Woolner

An informative and exhaustive essay on woodcock. Includes how to hunt them, as well as the migratory habits of this fascinating upland bird.
2011 Season Tote BoardTime in the Woods: app. 161.0 hoursGrouse & Woodcock seen, heard, moved & otherwise molested: 522

Birds / Hour Avg.: 3.24/ Hr

Birds Taken: 34 grouse, 21 woodcock

Recommended Reading:"A Grouse Hunter's Almanac"
by Mark Parman

An entertaining look at grouse and why we hunt them. Lots of stories about our canine partners in this experience too, written from a Wisconsin perspective. A great primer for the upcoming season.
2010 Season Tote BoardTime in the Woods: app. 139.5 hours

Grouse & Woodcock seen, heard, moved & otherwise molested: 430

Birds / Hour Avg.: 3.08 / Hr

Birds Taken: 26 grouse, 21 woodcock

Recommended Reading:"Grouse Hunter's Guide"
by Dennis Walrod

A very informative and amusing take on why we are devoted to the pursuit of grouse. Lots of statistics back up the author's many claims. Thanks to Paul O'Neill for his recommendation!
2009 Season Tote BoardTime in the Woods: app. 108 hours

Grouse & Woodcock seen, heard, moved & otherwise molested: 320

Birds / Hour Avg.: 3 / Hr

Birds Taken: 17 grouse, 14 woodcock

Recommended Reading: "A High, Lonesome Call"by Robert Holthouser

I'm not just advocating this book because we sell it in the lodge - it's truly a beautiful depiction of going on a bird hunting odyssey out west.
But beware: read it and you may go ...